Sunday morning toons: Special "I Sense Skepticism" edition

Yes, skepticism was in the air this week as a recession-battered America looked back at the year just past, looked around at the health care reform process still underway, and looked ahead to the arrival of Santa Claus--and on the whole found the Santa bit the least difficult notion to swallow.

Let's kick off with Daryl Cagle's toon round-up for the week.

p3 Picks of the Week: Mike Luckovich, Nate Beeler, Larry Wright, Jeff Parker, John Trever, Jimmy Margulies, Steve Sack, Scott Stantis, Ed Stein, and Monte Wolverton.

p3 Best of Show: Vic Harville.

p3 Legion of Merit Award: John Darkow.

p3 Plain Speaking Citation: Eric Allie.

p3 Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium (tie): R. J. Matson and John Cole.

p3 World Toon Review: Stephane Peray (Thailand), Laz (Cuba), Peter Lewis, (Australia), Christo Komarnitski (Bulgaria), and Michael Kountouris (Greece).


For those of you over a certain age, Ann Telnaes revisits a Simon and Garfunkle classic, For those of you under a certain age, she considers the value of peace on earth.


Courtesy of Mark Fiore Dogboy and Mr. Dan learn the true meaning of Christmas.


p3 Harmonic Toon Convergence Moment: Tom Tomorrow and Tom the Dancing Bug each take a whack at the "right-wing junior sleuth" meme. (Even their first names are the same! This is starting to weird me out.)


Portland homeboy Jack Ohman reminds us of the one mistake for which Al Gore has yet to atone,


That's not just the "prancing and pawing of little hooves" you hear up there on the roof: With a premise that's unlikely to become a holiday film by Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, or Tim Allen anytime soon, Non Sequitur notes that Christmas is a team effort.


Doonesbury is getting its licks in on ODS (Obama Disappointment Syndrome) this week, but I'm really including this strip because the ultra-insider punch line reminds me of a former line of work.


Well, it's not "The Aristocrats," that's for sure: We round out our skepticism-themed edition of Sunday toons with this obscure item from 1949, directed by Fritz Freleng and starring Porky Pig (in a rare outing without Daffy or Sylvester as a sidekick) as a talent agent. Hollywood gags from the era abound, including pokes at Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Al Jolsen--plus voice actor Mel Blanc having a bit of fun with his own reputation as "the man of a thousand voices."

For reasons that will become clear, this toon was almost never shown on television. (Got your attention now?)


No p3 Bonus Toon this week; Jesse Springer is still on hiatus. I think.


And, as always, remember to bookmark Slate's political cartoon for the day.


The p3 Sunday morning toons will return next year.